


Middle of the Night

by snapchattingnct



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Domestic Bliss, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Summer Love, THE CUTEST BABIES, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, also there's a really bad pun lol, markhyuck, there's more fluff than angst im sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:13:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24984379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snapchattingnct/pseuds/snapchattingnct
Summary: It was stolen moments like these, early in the morning where it was just him and Mark, no one else to disturb them, that Donghyuck felt like everything was going to be okay. No matter the distance, as long as they had each other like this, it’ll be alright in the end.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Comments: 9
Kudos: 161
Collections: Haechie Birthday Bash





	Middle of the Night

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sonus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sonus/gifts).



> To Marta. 
> 
> I'm so sorry that this took the longest of time to finish and to post also. My wifi was acting up and it was just being a pain. But here it is~ I hope that this was what you were hoping for. I meant it to be a lot more angsty than this but it ended up very fluffy instead... my apologies. My heart is far too soft to continue with the angst. 
> 
> I had a lot of fun writing this and it slowly became a very special piece to me too! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did while writing it! 
> 
> Beta-ed version updated. Thank you Isis!

It was so goddamn early, like four in the morning early. Donghyuck really shouldn’t be there right now, but he was. 

The sun wasn’t even climbing up into the sky yet when he knocked on Mark’s apartment door, a box of frosted corn flakes in one and a carton of milk in the other. Donghyuck felt his heart beat a little faster as he waited for Mark to open the door for him. He didn’t have a single clue if Mark had even heard the knock in the first place to actually let him in. It was dead in the middle of the night, no one in their right mind would be awake at an hour like this. 

When he was met with nothing but a deafening silence, he rapped his knuckles against the door again, this time a little louder, but not loud enough to cause a commotion. Donghyuck breathed through his nose deeply as he dropped his hands back at his side, his arms starting to ache from the items he was holding. They weren’t that heavy, but he had just walked all the way there with them, after taking the last running bus in the city to Mark’s apartment. 

A dull ache began to blossom in his chest before seeping deep into every single bone in his body and his eyes began to prickle. He let out another shaky breath, before raising his head to look at the fluorescent lights above his head. Trying his hardest to blink back his tears, Donghyuck bit down hard on his bottom lip, chewing on it until it hurt. 

He stood there for a couple more minutes before he decided that maybe that wasn’t the greatest idea that he had come up with. It was a reckless idea to jump on the last running bus and come to Mark’s place, which was a little more than a two-hour drive away from him, without warning or any sort of plan. 

Actually, he did have a plan and that plan was jumping on that bus with an armful of cereal and milk, because Donghyuck missed Mark and he needed an excuse to pull this spontaneous visit. 

Just when Donghyuck was about to give up and leave, he heard some rustling behind the door and his heart jumped all the way into his throat. He held his breath as he watched the door handle turn before revealing an extremely disheveled looking Mark, clothes all wrinkled up and glasses sitting crooked on his face. His hair was a mess and his face looked swollen from sleep, but Donghyuck thought it was the cutest thing in the world. 

“Donghyuck?” Mark croaked out, voice all raspy and still thick with sleep. He stood there for a moment, shoulder leaning heavily against his door frame as he rubbed at his eyes. Donghyuck watched as he blinked a few times before his eyes slowly came into focus and his lips parted at the sight of him. “Baby?” 

Donghyuck felt that any resolution he had cracked and the tears that he was trying his hardest to keep at bay were resurfacing again. He felt his lips trembling as he tried to say something in return. All that he was able to get out was a soft, “Yeah?” Even then, his voice cracked terribly. 

“Oh, fuck, baby, don’t cry. Come here.” Mark rushed out, stepping forward to tuck him into the comfort and safety of his arms. 

The tears flowed and this time around, he didn’t even bother stopping them. Burying his face against Mark’s chest, soaking in the warmth and the scent of clean cotton, he dropped everything he was holding, and slipped his arms around Mark’s torso, hugging him back tightly. 

“Hey, no crying. I’m here. You’re here. Everything is going to be okay.” He felt a gentle hand run through his curls, trying to calm him down. But if anything, it just made him want to cry even more, so he did.

He missed that so much. He missed it so  _ fucking _ much. 

Mark pressed his lips to his temple before moving down to cover the rest of his face with soft kisses, thumb coming up to wipe away his tears. It was no use though because his tears kept on flowing down at an alarming rate, dripping down onto the front of his shirt. Seeing this, Mark cupped his hands around his face, caressing his cheeks, “Hey, look at me.” 

Blinking rapidly, Donghyuck looked up at Mark’s face. Even with the tears clouding his vision, he could still see the way Mark’s brown eyes softened the moment that their eyes connected. As he continued to stare into those warm eyes, his crying subsided to nothing but a series of hiccups. 

“Yeah, no more crying,” Mark whispered, his thumb catching any stray tears that escaped from his eyes. 

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled out, voice scratched up from all his crying. Bringing his arm up to rub at his wet cheeks, he let out a dry laugh. “This was probably the last thing that you were expecting when you opened the door at four in the morning.” 

“I mean, I definitely wasn’t, but it’s not unwelcomed.” Mark tucked his bangs behind his ears, smiling at him. Then reaching down, Mark gathered the abandoned cereal box and milk. “Come on, let’s go inside. I know you’re not just here to cry in the middle of the hallway.”

“No, you’re right. That wasn’t the real reason why I came here.” Donghyuck tucked into himself as he stepped into the apartment. Toeing his shoes off at the door, he mumbled, “The sobbing session was kind of an impromptu thing.” 

“Well, no more crying, okay?” Donghyuck nodded as Mark gave him another kiss on the forehead. “Now, come on. I think it’s cereal time.” 

Unable to stop himself, Donghyuck snorted. “You only care about the cereal.” 

“So not true.” Mark argued as he began to dig through his cupboards to pull out a set of bowls for them. “I care about you too, baby.” 

Donghyuck felt himself starting to tear up again at Mark’s words and he had to try really hard to keep them from escaping, he honestly didn’t feel like he had it in him to cry like that again. It seemed like Mark had felt that too because he immediately stopped what he was doing in the kitchen and rushed over to where he was, pulling him back into a hug. 

“Maybe, moving to a whole different city for this internship probably wasn’t a good idea…,” Mark whispered into his hair, his warm words tickling his ears. “I should have stayed closer.” 

“No, you belong here, Mark.” Donghyuck replied. He knew that Mark thrived in this new city more than he ever did back home. As much as it had hurt him to believe it, it was the truth and who was he to hinder Mark from accomplishing his dreams? Mark deserved this. “I know that you love it here.”

“Yeah, but it’s pretty boring without you here, you know?” Mark’s laugh warmed his entire body, but his words did so much more. The fire that had been missing from his heart finally stirred again and it made him feel a little lighter. “No one to pick dumb fights with me. No one to remind me to eat or to cook food for me when I’m hungry. You know I can’t cook anything without burning down the kitchen.” 

“I’m surprised that you haven’t burned it down already.” Donghyuck commented. 

At the mention of cooking, he wondered how Mark had survived this whole time without him by his side to take care of him. One look at his overflowing trash can was enough to answer that mystery. There were a bunch of ramen cups and takeout boxes. His heart began to ache at the thought that Mark hadn’t had a proper home-cooked meal in so long. He really should have made this trip over there sooner. 

Following his gaze, Mark laughed nervously as he moved in front of the trash can, trying to block Donghyuck from the view. “I make do.” 

“Barely.” He teased back. “I know that you’re probably sick of it, but I brought you some cereal.” 

“It’s not just any cereal,” Mark began to say, eyes extremely warm. “It’s cereal brought by you, in person, and that makes it so much better —  like a thousand times better.” 

Donghyuck groaned as he felt his tears starting again. Hitting Mark on his chest, he whined, “Stop it with all the mushy words. You’re going to make me cry again!” 

Mark threw his head back and laughed heartily, a stark contrast to the current mood floating in the room, a mix between longing and want. “Stop crying, Donghyuck. You’re making me look like a really bad boyfriend. My neighbors are probably going to ask what kind of cheating jerk I am to have my boyfriend cry at four in the morning later on when I see them.” 

“Then make up for it.” 

“How?” Mark breathed out, face coming close to his own until their breaths were mingling as one. Donghyuck had the urge to close his eyes as Mark ran his fingers delicately over his skin, tracing and connecting all the beauty marks on his face together. “Tell me how.” 

Words barely above a whisper, he said, “I think you know how, Mark.” 

Donghyuck watched the gentle smile on Mark’s lips spread out wide, his cheekbones moving with the movement. Eyes sparkling and full of warmth, he allowed himself to be pulled against Mark’s chest, their lips only a breath away. 

“I’ve missed you, Donghyuck.” Mark’s eyes lost their sparkle for a second and in place of them, Donghyuck saw the pain that he, himself, was so familiar with. Under where he had placed his hand against Mark’s chest, he could feel the steady beat of Mark’s heart, beating in sync with his own. “Like,  _ a lot. _ ” 

“I’ve missed you too,” Donghyuck replied, words heavy. “Why did you think I showed up at your doorstep at such an ungodly hour with a box of frosted flakes? I needed a reason to be with you, that’s all.” 

“Cereal? Really?” Mark laughed, the sparkle returning back to his eyes. Mark reached up to slip a hand behind the nape of his neck, bringing him closer so that when he spoke his next few words, Donghyuck felt their lips brush against each other. “You always have a reason to be with me, Donghyuck.”

“Yeah?” 

“Hmm. You always have a reason to be with me because I love you. Wholeheartedly and endlessly.” Mark answered. “ _ Always. _ ” 

“I love you too.” 

When their lips finally touched, completely this time around, it felt like a weight had been lifted from Donghyuck’s chest. He felt like it was so much easier to breathe. The gaping hole that had existed in his heart was finally closed. He was finally where he was supposed to be, with Mark, who had become more of his home than his real home ever was. Home was wherever Mark was, and it had been too long since he had been home. 

.

Donghyuck figured that this must have been how Mark had felt when he had randomly popped up at his apartment at four in the morning and somewhat rudely woken him up. 

He groaned as he turned in his bed, trying his best to ignore the constant knocking on his front door. It was Saturday morning and he definitely wasn’t expecting any visitors, especially not at this hour of the day. The only meeting he was planning on having was with sleep and no one else, but when he came to the conclusion that the knocking simply wasn’t going to stop anytime soon, he threw his comforter off with a huff. 

Stomping out of his room and through the living area, he yanked the door open, “What the hell —  Mark?” 

“Hey, baby.” Mark smiled wide back at him, looking ridiculously good even at an hour like that. It was really unfair, truly, that Mark looked this good right now —  fluffy hair effortlessly messy and lips so kissable. 

There was no way that was real, it couldn’t have been. When he had spoken to Mark the night before, Mark had told him that he was packing for a trip out of town. Reaching up to pinch his own cheeks, Donghyuck tried to see if he was still stuck in dreamland or not, but he never got that far because Mark hastily took his hands. 

“Don’t do that. You are not allowed to cause any pain to my baby!” Mark exclaimed. Then with an even bigger smile, he said, “Let’s go. We don’t have much time.” 

As soon as those words left Mark’s mouth, the older boy started to help him into a pair of sneakers and threw a hoodie over his head before he dragged him out of the door. With one foot barely out of the door though, Donghyuck tugged on Mark’s hand. “Wait! What is going on? Where are we going?”

“Somewhere. It’s a surprise.” 

“I literally just woke up! Can’t you at least give me some time to brush my teeth? I still have morning breath, which is not cute, at all.” 

“You’re still cute, even with morning breath and all.” To prove his point, Mark leaned in and kissed him right on the lips. 

He stood there, shocked and unmoving. But as the feeling of Mark’s warm lips continued to move against his own, his lips started to move to kiss Mark back on its own accord. Donghyuck’s hands came up to grip the front of Mark’s hoodie, relishing in the taste of Mark’s lips that he had missed so much from the last time that they had kissed like that. He could even taste the lingering taste of mint from when Mark had brushed his teeth before arriving there. 

As fast as the kiss had started, it ended, much to Donghyuck’s dismay. He would continue to kiss those lips forever if he could, even with his stale morning breath and all. 

Face a little flushed, Mark pulled away. “Let’s go.” 

With barely any time to lock his apartment door behind him, Donghyuck allowed Mark to whisk him away to wherever it was that his heart desired because as long as he was with Mark, the destination didn’t matter. 

Donghyuck swore that he was really dreaming, because there was no way in hell that the pretty, black Mercedes in front of him belonged to Mark. Mark, who he  _ knew  _ didn’t even own a goddamn driver’s license. Thus, it wasn’t possible and he had to be dreaming. 

But on the other hand, there was no way that Mark would have called a luxury Uber for them. They were both broke-ass college students that could barely afford instant ramen cups every night for dinner. Not to mention, Mark wasn’t the kind of person to waste money on things like this. They usually just called for the cheapest Uber and that was it. 

“Come on, what are you waiting for? We’re wasting time!” Mark laughed as he pushed him closer to the car and opened the passenger door for him. He hesitated for a split second, eyeing the opened door and then back at Mark. 

It was only when Mark started to shove him into the car that he moved. Mark also helped him with the seatbelt, which he could have totally handled on his own, but he liked that Mark did. When Mark finally shut his door after making sure that he was all settled in that he ran back over to the driver’s side. 

As Mark started the engine, Donghyuck suddenly blurted out, “Please tell me you didn’t do something illegal…” 

“Illegal?” Mark turned to him confused. Brows knitting together, he asked in return, “What are you talking about?” 

“How did you get here?” He continued to question, looking around at the car’s fancy interior with wide eyes. “Also, where did you get that car?” 

Mark’s eyebrows raised even higher, almost disappearing into his hairline before he threw his head back against the headrest and laughed, loudly. Then waving his hands all around him, “I clearly drove here…” Mark told him. “And it’s Johnny’s. I bribed him into letting me borrow it for the day.” 

“Liar! And there’s no way Johnny would let you do that.” 

“I’m not! I really drove here, Hyuck.” 

“I don’t believe you.” Donghyuck shook his head. Crossing his arms against his chest, he gave Mark a look.  “You don’t even have a driver’s license! Did you drive here illegally?”

“No!” Mark laughed at the absurdity of it all. “No, baby, I got my driver’s license like a couple weeks ago.”

“I don’t believe you.” 

He watched as Mark shook his head, a tiny smile on his lips as he dug around his pocket for his wallet. The longer that Donghyuck stared at him the less confident he felt. What if Mark really did get his driver’s license and he just didn’t know? But then again, they told each other everything, nothing was ever hidden between them. All of their secrets were always laid out on the table and this definitely wasn’t something that came up in their conversations. 

Mark handed him his open wallet, where his driver’s license was proudly displayed on the right side. Laughing, Mark asked, “Do you believe me now?” 

Donghyuck snatched the wallet right of Mark’s hand and brought it up closer to his face, staring at it hard. He brought his hand up to rub his eyes, blinking a couple times. The longer that he stared at the driver’s license, Mark’s devilishly handsome face staring right back at him —  curse him for always looking so photogenic, he let out a small gasp. “You really went and got your driver’s license without telling me?” 

“I wanted to surprise you.” Mark shrugged, an easy smile still on his lips. Then reaching across the console, Mark took his wallet back before intertwining their fingers together. Squeezing their connected hands once, Mark gently brought his hand up to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to the top of his knuckles. 

His cheeks burned at the gesture. Heart drumming in his chest, Donghyuck slumped back into his seat, a blissed-out smile on his lips, and closed his eyes. He listened as Mark turned the volume to the radio up before pulling out of the parking lot.

During the day, these streets were packed to the brim with cars and traffic was unavoidable. In the early morning hours though, the streets held little to no traffic, just the occasional car passing by. 

Mark had the windows partially down, allowing the cool breeze to comb through their hair. He stuck his free hand out the open window, feeling the wind through his fingers and waving them at the night sky. A soft pop song came on shuffle and Mark began to hum along to it, his singing almost lost to the winds racing past them as they drove. 

  
  


It was stolen moments like these, early in the morning where it was just him and Mark, no one else to disturb them, that Donghyuck felt like everything was going to be okay. No matter the distance, as long as they had each other like this, it’ll be alright in the end. 

.

  
  


Apparently he had fallen asleep at some point in the drive because the next time that he opened his eyes, the sky was dusted in a purple hue from the last remnants of the night while the clouds were highlighted a light pink.

He lifted his head up from the seat, blinking his eye blearily. As he did so, he felt something drop down onto his lap —  Mark’s jacket. Donghyuck smiled as he played around with the drawstrings of the hoodie. Mark must have draped it over him when he had fallen asleep. Speaking of Mark, he looked to the driver’s side and saw that it was empty. Confused, he looked out the window again to see that they had stopped driving and the car was parked in an empty parking lot.

Mind still trying to take in everything, Donghyuck jumped when the driver’s door suddenly opened. 

“Oh, you’re awake. Perfect timing.” Mark smiled, the first rays of the morning sun began to filter in from behind him. Donghyuck thought that he was staring at an angel, which Mark wasn’t all that far from being one. 

Before he could ask any more questions, Mark pushed an ice cream cone into his hands. “Here, this is for you.” 

“Ice cream, at this hour?” Donghyuck raised his eyebrow. Staring at the blue-colored treat in his hand, he said, “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” 

“Ice cream is always a good idea. Well, maybe not for me because I can’t consume it without practically dying, but you get the point.” Mark commented. Then pointing at the backpack he was carrying, he said, “But if you don’t want it, I have some cereal and milk too.” 

Donghyuck shook his head as he began to eat his cold treat. “Always cereal.” A tiny shiver raked through his body as the ice cream touched his tongue, but he continued to eat it anyways. 

“Yes, always cereal. Do you know why?” 

“Why?” 

He caught the way Mark’s eyes crinkled up and his heart skipped a beat. Donghyuck clutched onto his ice cream cone just a little tighter as he waited for Mark’s answer. 

“It’s because… I  _ cereal-sly  _ love you.” 

There was a beat of silence. 

Donghyuck blinked once, then twice, before he mumbled, “You did not just say that…” Cheeks red, he brought up his hands to cover his face in embarrassment. Mark could be such a dork sometimes— a lovable dork, but still a dork regardless. 

Mark winked at him, a smile shining brighter than the morning sun. “I did. So unless you want to hear more, let’s go. The sunrise isn’t waiting for anyone, we better hurry if we want to catch it.”

He was confused by Mark’s words, his still sleepy state of mind barely able to comprehend anything that was currently going on. Donghyuck allowed Mark to take him away, again, to wherever it was that Mark wanted. He continued to eat away at his ice cream, trying to finish it off before it could become a puddle of goo. Despite it still being rather early in the morning, it was already humid and hot. 

He groaned when a trail of melted ice cream had already begun to slowly coat his fingers, making them all sticky and gross. 

“You’re such a messy eater,” Mark commented as he began to magically pull some napkins out of his pockets. Reaching over to help him clean up the mess that he was making, he added, “You’re like a baby.” 

“I’m trying to eat it as fast as I can, okay?” He complained, because he really was. “It’s not my fault that it’s hot in the middle of June.” 

“Excuses.” Mark laughed. Then pointing at his upper lip, he said, “You got some on your face too,  _ baby. _ ”

Rolling his eyes at the mocking use of his pet name, Donghyuck brought one of the napkins up to wipe his face. “Did I get it?” 

When Mark continued to laugh at him, holding onto his stomach as he did so, Donghyuck knew that he still had ice cream on his face. Sighing deeply, he continued to blindly wipe it off of his face. 

On the third try when he apparently still didn’t get it, Mark wrapped his hands around his wrist, stopping his movement and tugged him close. “Here, let me get it for you.” 

Donghyuck handed Mark the napkin to use but he simply shook his head. Confused, he opened his mouth to ask why, when he suddenly felt something wet and warm against his cheek. 

He stood there frozen as Mark leaned back, eyes gleaming as he said, “Sweet.”

Lips parted, Donghyuck couldn’t believe what had just happened. “Did you just…?”

“Maybe.” Mark shrugged, appearing super guilty but not ashamed of what he did at all. 

“That was kind of gross.” Donghyuck wiped at his cheeks with the back of his hand, mildly disgusted that Mark just licked his face. 

“Not really. What difference is it compared to when we’re exchanging our own saliva with each other when we’re kissing?” 

When he wasn’t able to say anything back, his cheeks burning, Mark laughed. Mark’s laugh sent a jolt of electricity through his entire body. 

“Exactly, now come! Stop with the stalling!” Mark shouted at him.

The air smelled of sea salt as the summer breeze caressed his cheeks, and it was only then that Donghyuck realized that they were at a beach. Staring out at the calm waves crashing against the shore, kicking up sand in its path, he was in awe. 

Donghyuck felt Mark tugging at his hands, pulling him into the sand with him. Two seconds into the warm sand, he could already feel the tiny grains of sand seeping into his socks and it seemed like the same was happening to Mark because not that much later, Mark took off his own shoes, opting to go barefoot. Following his actions, Donghyuck took off his shoes too, letting his toes sink into the sand. 

By the time that he had caught up to where Mark was, Mark had already laid out a bunch of blankets and was sitting in the middle of it all. 

Hands reaching out for his own, Mark smiled up at him, “Come here, baby.” 

Melting into his hold, Donghyuck snuggled up against him until his back was touching Mark’s chest. Mark wrapped his arms tightly around his shoulders before kissing him. 

Relishing in the warmth of Mark’s lips pressed to his temple and the feeling of his arms around his body, Donghyuck leaned back, feeling the steady beat of Mark’s heart against his back. “Any reason for this spontaneous road trip?” 

Mark hummed. “No, not really. I missed you, that’s all.” 

A giggle bubbled from within his chest as he said, “We could have cuddled back at my place. You didn’t have to go through all this trouble to spend some time with me.” 

“You’re right. I didn’t, but I wanted to,” Mark told him. “Plus, isn’t it nice to just get away from everything? Even if it’s only for a few hours…” 

Sitting there in Mark’s arms, watching the sun rise up, painting the skies a mix of purple and orange, Donghyuck couldn’t help but agree. It was nice, just him and Mark, separated from everything else. No deadlines or responsibilities to hold them back from being with each other. 

Once the sun was fully high up in the sky, Donghyuck shrugged off the blankets that Mark had placed onto his shoulders. Getting up to his feet, he tugged at Mark’s hand once, before running out towards the ocean, arms spread out wide towards the morning sun. 

Donghyuck sneaked a peek behind his shoulder to check if Mark had followed along and surely, he had. Smiling, he watched as the smile on Mark’s lips matched his own, shining ten times brighter than the sun itself, as he ran after him. 

He felt his heart racing in his chest as he heard Mark come up closer to him, placing his hand into Donghyuck’s outstretched one. With a gentle tug, Mark pulled him back into his chest before twirling him around, Mark’s laugh harmonizing with his own. 

Slipping his arms around Mark’s neck, he smiled, “We should do this more often. It’s nice.” 

“Hmm, we should,” Mark replied, his fingers coming up to brush the hairs out of his eyes. His eyes fluttered close as Mark placed a soft kiss on the tip of his nose. “You and me, nothing else, baby.” 

“Yeah,” he breathed out, his skin buzzing and his heart warm. “You and me.”   
  


**Author's Note:**

> [twt](https://twitter.com/markeuhyuckie/status/1239041276454076417?s=20) | [cc](https://curiouscat.me/markeuhyuckie)


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